


The gift horse's mouth.

by leospigtails



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Bay Movies), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Benjamin Button Syndrome, Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, Drama, Everyone else is a turtle, Goo works in mysterious ways, Human / Turtle, Hurt/Comfort, Jealous Michelangelo, Leonardo is having a rough time, M/M, Memory Loss, Protective Donatello (TMNT), Protective Raphael (TMNT), Splinter is a bad dad, Turtlecest (TMNT), human!leonardo, not betas we die like turtles, race against the clock
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-12 07:48:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28881966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leospigtails/pseuds/leospigtails
Summary: When Leonardo takes a dart for Michelangelo, the effects he suffers begin to cause a rift in the brothers. It isn't until they start to figure out that this "gift" isn't all it seems, that they realize they're in a race against the clock for life as they know it.
Relationships: Donatello/Raphael (TMNT), Leonardo/Michelangelo (TMNT)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 25





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm just here to hurt Leonardo. This is not an original idea, and such a cliché, but I hope you enjoy it anyway.

“Mikey,  _ move _ !”

The shout across the alleyway was frantic, as if a life depended on getting the words across. In a way, they did. The four brothers were battered and worn down, with Donnie taking the worst damage so far. Raph hadn’t moved from his protective stance in front of him, as if he was worried they’d come to finish the job on the purple turtle. That was what they were all thinking. Leonardo wasn’t sure exactly who  _ they  _ were, but they were dangerous. 

Loading barrels of some type of substance into an armoured car in the middle of the night wasn’t exactly  _ normal _ business. 

What had started out as an average patrol now seemed to be ending with a bleeding Donatello, furious Raph and worried Leonardo. Leo had thought they were done, when the last of the kevlar covered men had been thrown back into the warehouse they’d walked out of. He wanted to find out exactly what they were trafficking, but Donnie was more important. The wound on the side of his plastron was bleeding, the gunshot had seemed to just graze him but he knew that none of the brother’s would be comfortable until Donnie was back in the lair getting checked over. He thought they were done and the group would be able to collect their losses and get out of there.

That was until one of the men, weak on his feet, had aimed his weapon at the youngest of the bunch.

Leonardo was too far away from him to disarm him. He didn’t have time to properly block, his head swimming from the blows he’d taken earlier in the fight. The only thing in his mind was to get Michelangelo out of the way. Throwing himself forward when his brother had not moved at his shout, his arms slammed into the youngest turtle’s side -- propelling him out of the way. He heard the discharge of the weapon, and felt something slam into his side as he heard Mikey’s cry and the scrape of shell on cement. Falling down and clutching himself, the last he heard of the man who fired on them was a choked off cry. Raph got to him before Leo had a chance to properly put two and two together. 

“Leo --” Donnie called weakly over to him, from across the alley. Leo’s vision was a bit blurry. He wasn’t sure what he’d been hit with, but he knew for a fact that it wasn’t a normal gun like the one that had been shot at Donatello. Whatever it was, he felt a bit sick. Maybe it was the adrenaline. 

“I’m okay,” he gurgled out -- reaching to his side and pulling what had shot him out. It looked like a dart of some kind, even to his swimming vision. There were hands on him suddenly, a furious Mikey was looking down at him with wet eyes. 

“Leo, dude,” his voice was tight. “Why did you do that?”

“Why didn’t you move?” Leo mumbled, not meaning to accuse his brother -- especially when he saw the flinch behind his eyes. 

“Mike, you got Leo?” Raph was back on Donatello in an instant, arm around his waist as he slung Donnie’s arm over his shoulder. It was clear he wanted to get a move on, despite the fact their fearless leader had also been shot. 

“I’m fine.” Leo spoke with a bit more sureness in his voice. He tried to stand, but his vision was still swimming and the sight that the dart had been shot was starting to sting. 

“I got him,” It was clear that Mikey didn’t care what Leo had to say. In a similar position to how Donnie was being lifted up, Leonardo was hoisted. He put weight on Mikey without meaning to, eyes staring fixed forward but not focused on anything. 

“Let’s get home,” Raph gruffed out -- holding onto the purple brother tighter with trembling fingers. 

“Going to . . . . need stitches,” Donatello mumbled weakly at his side -- but his only answer was a tight kiss to his temple. It was clear that Raph knew that, and wanted to forget it for a moment before they could be home and taking care of their injured. 

  
  


The worried voice of their Father was quickly ignored as they made their way to the needle room. Leo felt guilt at that, never wanting to ignore his Father for even a moment -- but he had no choice as Mikey whisked him off. Raph and Donnie had beaten the pair there. The gruff brother had the softer one laid down on a cot, carefully removing the massive amounts of gear that Donatello toted around with him in order to get a better look at his injuries. Raph was no medic. They all knew that. Which was why, in a tired and pained voice, Donatello was walking him through it all. His words were like pudding in Leo’s ears, but he still knew what was happening. Maybe it was time to take Donnie up on the medical training he had offered them so many times. It wasn’t often that Donnie was injured, but in times like this --

No, nope.

Thinking was making the pudding brain stronger.

Leo groaned slightly as Mikey sat him down on a cot as well, hand coming up to rub his face. He felt like he was going to be sick. His stomach rolled, and something about his face must have told the youngest that he was going to hurl. A waste basket, that had started it’s life as a five gallon bucket, was placed on his lap.

“You okay?” Mikey asked, hand resting on Leo’s knee as Leo clung to the bucket.

“Why’s the room spinning?” 

Leonardo had meant it as a joke, but it was obvious from the horrified look that crossed Mikey’s face he didn’t appreciate it. 

“I’m fine,” he followed up instead. “Just nauseous.” 

“What did they shoot you with?” The youngest brother lifted up his hand, still holding onto the dart there. At least he had been smart enough to take it with them, Leonardo had completely forgotten to bring it. He tried to look at it, but attempting to focus on anything made the wavy vision intensify. 

“Probably some type of tranq,” Leo guessed -- hunching back a roll of nausea as he learned forward. He heaved dryly, nothing coming up, and Mikey reached behind him to rub gentle circles into his shell. “Probably -- not enough for something like us.”

_ Something like us _ . The argument about the purple ooze was fresh enough to still sting. Leonardo asserted his dominance as their leader, insisting there was no reason to try to become human. The ensuing arguments and tension of his family had been something he reflected on often in meditation. 

“So it’s makin’ you all sick and stuff?” Mikey obviously was not a fan of Leo’s heaving, but he wasn’t leaving his side. 

“I guess.”

“Raph -- ow!” Donatello’s voice cut through to them, causing the two to look over to the other cot. Donatello was on his side, the glass of water clear that he had already taken something for pain and infection. The hulking brute stood over him, a tiny needle in his large fingers. 

“Well sorry,” the tone was sarcastic but there was some truth in his voice. He was nervous. “I’m not exactly used to doin’ needlepoint!”

“What about your knitting?” Mikey asked, dropping into their conversation but never stopping his gentle strokes of Leo’s shell. 

“Shut up, Mikey! Y’re not helpin’!” 

“What me to do it? I’m good with tiny things!” He still did not remove his hand from Leonardo’s shell, but the offer was in the air. Listening to them argue and chat wasn’t helping his sickness, and Leo moved to lay on his side on the cot -- thinking if he was vertical it would be better. It wasn’t, and his new best friend the bucket stayed. Raph  _ growled _ .

“You’re not touchin’ him, for all I know you’re gonna run him through worse.”

“Maybe you should let him help, Raph.” That was Donnie, Leo knew that even through his closed eyes. Apparently the approval from the brain was all that was needed, the touch to his shell finally left and Leo let out a sigh at the removal. He already missed it, but Donnie was clearly more injured than he was. 

Not bothering to open his eyes, he laid there in dark sickness listening to their voices as they slowly dissolved into more nonsense to his head -- unable to comprehend them anymore. 

There was a comment about shoving knitting needles where they didn’t belong, but that was the last thing he remembered before the darkness properly took him.

Leonardo wasn’t sure what time it was when his eyes finally opened. 

The only thing he knew was that he had a splitting headache. The soft glow of the needle room was still on him, and he groaned as he scrubbed over his face with the palm of his hand. He felt -- off. Wrong, even. He wasn’t sure he had thrown up or not in his slumber as he looked around for his precious bucket. Seeing it empty on the floor, his gaze moved around the room. 

He was alone?

An odd occurrence for one of them to be ill and be left alone, he felt a pang in his stomach at the realization. Trying to put the pieces together of what had happened -- he swung his legs over the side of the cot. Donatello had been injured, and Donatello never liked sleeping in here if he could help it. There was no doubt he was either in his room or Raph’s. But that raised the question of -- where was Mikey? Had he left Leo alone in here to go sleep in the comfort of his own room? Leonardo wondered if he was truly so angry at him for protecting him in the alley that he didn’t even want to look at the eldest brother. 

Stepping off the cot, his legs buckled underneath him. His vision still swam slightly, but he managed to grab onto the edge of the cot and save himself the embarrassing fall to the floor. 

“Fuck,” his words felt wrong in his mouth. His tongue felt too big, and too small at the same time. Remembering, vaguely, that Mikey had taken the dart with them -- he hoped that if there was anything truly wrong with him that Donatello would be able to figure it out from the contents. Once he was better. He didn’t want to pressure him, he knew that Donnie held their health on his shoulders in times like this. He felt selfish for even thinking it, knowing he needed to give his brother at least a day of rest.

Attempting to stand once more, he locked his knees as his thighs shook. But he did not fall down, and he counted that as a win. Most of his entire being wanted to crawl back onto the cot and go to sleep, but the needs of his bladder were making themself known. He didn’t know how long he had been asleep, but when his eyes finally found the clock it told him it was late. Everyone must be asleep. 

Mikey must have left him for his own bed. 

He tried to ignore the pang again, and instead slowly made his way through the needle room. Arms reaching out and grabbing onto whatever they could as he walked slowly. It wasn’t a race, despite how badly he wanted to relieve himself. 

It took longer than it should have, but when he finally made it to the bathroom and flicked the lights on -- all thoughts of taking a piss were out the window. 

The mirror before him, gave a different story than his memory did.

Because as far as he could remember, and for as long as he could remember, he had been a mutant turtle. 

But there was a man in the mirror staring back at him. A  _ human _ man. Short black hair fell around his face. The scar on his face matched the one on Leonardo’s. There was a muscular frame, which was obvious due to the fact he wasn’t wearing a shirt. It wasn’t the scar, or the fact that as Leonardo blinked the human in the mirror blinked. There was a black tattoo band around his upper arm. Matching exactly to Leonardo’s own.

He was surprised he hadn’t screamed yet. That was the most logical thought in his mind, as he stepped deeper into the bathroom. The fact he hadn’t screamed yet. Mikey would have screamed. Maybe even Raph, probably not Donnie. 

Reaching his hand up, he touched his own face. The man in the mirror, well, mirrored him. He pulled his cheek a little, exposing the pink inner eyelid of the human. Of -- him? 

Clearly he was still asleep. Clearly. He had this dream before, though the man in the mirror didn’t exactly look like he looked in his dreams. Maybe it was the hair. He always imagined himself having longer hair like the men in the stories his Father used to tell. No longer needing to piss, the thought having left his mind, he touched the mirror -- catching the first sight of his own hands properly. They were slightly tanned and fleshy, not the normal green scales he was used to. 

_ Now _ his heart was hammering a bit faster. He turned them over, looking at the palms, before looking at the tops once more. Lifting his gaze back up to the mirror, the man in it looked a bit frantic now. Oh, that was him. That’s right. Lifting one of those foreign hands back up, he did the most logical thing for a mutant turtle to do.

Slapping himself across the face, he was surprised when he didn’t wake up. Less surprised by the ringing in his ears. Mostly the fact that he had not woken up.

This was a dream, so didn’t that typically work?

Heart hammering inside his sculpted chest, he wasn’t sure exactly what to do in order to wake up when he heard his voice called from the other room.

“Leo?” 

It was Mikey. 

Wherever he had been, he was now looking for his brother. Despite the fact that this was clearly a dream, Leonardo didn’t want him to see him. Turning around quickly, he slammed the door to the bathroom shut, and locked it. Alerting his brother to his position wasn’t something that crossed his mind, instead it was just a quick escape from whatever was happening. Even though it trapped him with the man in the mirror. 

“Leo?” The voice was closer now, reaching up to knock. “Oh, dude. Are you barfing?”

“No,” Leo’s voice sounded the same but it still felt strange leaving his throat. “No, go away.”

“Uh, I’m not going to do that.”

“Just go away, Mikey.”

“No?” Mikey sounded concerned now, jiggling the knob of the bathroom before realizing it was locked. “Leo, c’mon. Open the door, I’m not going to get grossed out if you’re puking.”

Leonardo said nothing else, instead glancing over his shoulder at the man once more. He liked his lips to wet them, feeling his stomach flip when the motion was mimicked. His eyes were still blue, staring back at him. Leonardo had gotten good at distinguishing human race’s, it was important when telling his brother’s defining details. He knew he wasn’t caucasian. The man in the mirror, that is. Not  _ him _ . He wasn’t human, he was a turtle. 

A turtle.

“Leo, open the door,” The knob didn’t stop jostling as Mikey continued to try to get entry. “Open the door, dude, or I’m going to open it for you!”

The tone of his voice made Leo’s heart hurt. He sounded scared, terrified even. Maybe it was the silence, and the fact Leo wasn’t replying to him. Still convinced he was simply seeing things, or that he was in a dream, Leonardo wondered what the harm in opening the door was.

Of course, Mikey wouldn’t see some human man standing in the bathroom. Because the only humans that had come down here, invited, were Casey and April. They weren’t here. Leo lifted his hand to the knob, noticing that it was shaking. Touching the rattling bronze, he took it firmly in his hand. Using his thumb to undo the simple lock, he turned against Mikey’s own grip and slowly opened the door. 

Seeing his worried brother’s face go from just that to horrified and  _ angry _ , well Leonardo guessed he didn’t see a turtle.

“Who the  _ fuck _ are you!?”

Donatello was pinching the space between his eyes, having been woken up by the shouting match in the bathroom. Raph had gone out at Mikey’s shouts for his brother’s, and demands where their fearless leader was, and it was when he too had started shouting that Donnie had followed out. A light limp in his step as he favored one side over the other.

Leonardo was sure had not expected to see his brothers standing around a human at four in the morning. 

Now sitting back in the needle room, the three of them eyed him warily. He sat on a cot, arms resting on his knees and wondering where his swords were. 

“Let me get this straight,” there was a rough tone to Raph’s voice as he looked him over. “You’re Leonardo and we’re meant to believe that you just  _ woke up _ human?”

“I think there might be more to it than that, but. Yes.” Leonardo was still surprised by how calm his voice was. Was this shock? Maybe it would hit him all at once later, but for right now -- he simply sat and stared at them. Reaching a hand up, he pushed some of the hair out of his eyes with annoyance. How did people  _ deal _ with that?

“Bullshit.” Raph snarled as Donatello finally stopped pinching and looked at them. Leo knew he was tired, from the bags under his eyes and the bandage around his middle. “Bullshit.”

“I don’t know any more than you, Raph --”

“Bullshit, I said!” Raph stood up but was halted from advancing on him with a touch to his wrist from Donnie. He spared a glance at the genius before grinding his teeth. “Leo would never turn himself  _ human _ .”

“I didn’t ask for this!” Leonardo sounded a bit offended. Mikey wasn’t looking at him anymore, instead staring down at his feet. Leo wondered what that meant but he was too focused on his current argument with Raphael. “I don’t know  _ any more _ than you, Raph!”

“Let’s assume for a minute that I believe you,” Raph scoffed. “And y’re not just some human that crawled into our space.”

“How would I even get in here undetected, Raph, think for a minute --”

Raphael ignored that comment. “You got any  _ theories _ on why you suddenly have  _ hair _ ?”

“The dart.” 

Their heads snapped over to Donnie who looked as if he suddenly realized something. His mouth opened, eyes looking over to the dart on the table, before closing once more. “The -- dart. Leo was shot with something, saving Mikey.”

Mikey flinched.

“You think somethin’ in that dart turned him  _ human _ ?” Raph seemed to believe his beloved brother’s words more than the shirtless man on the cot. “Really, Don?”

“The purple ooze . . . it had the possibility, maybe someone out there is trying to weaponize it. Maybe they made it work, for other mutants --” Donnie finally looked back at Leonardo who was feeling more than a bit lost. “Maybe that’s what they were transporting.”

“Doesn’t explain why they’d shoot me with it.” Leonardo whispered, feeling like public enemy number one at the moment. Mikey wouldn’t look at him, Raph was shaking and Donnie looked . . . well, as lost as Leonardo felt. 

“No, it doesn’t.”

“I’m not buyin’ it.”

“Raph --”

“No!” Raph was shouting at Donnie now, but he bit it back down with one look from those brown eyes. “No. I don’t believe it. Leo was --”

“Would it help if I did a DNA test?” Donnie reached back up once more to hold onto Raph’s wrist. Rubbing his thumb over his pulse point. Leo watched them, his own eyes flicking down to Mikey who was glaring at something in the corner of the room. What Leo wouldn’t give for some comfort like that. But he guessed he could understand why his brother wouldn’t look at him. 

“. . .” Raph said nothing in reply, but it was clear that it would. Sighing, Donatello got up and moved to make peace in his love’s head. 

One DNA test later, a cup of water for a parched Leonardo -- and Raph was stuck looking like he lost a bet when Donatello read to him the results. It wasn’t exactly a DNA test in the true definition, but when he checked his blood type to what they had on file for Leo and it matched -- he promised Raph that if he still didn’t believe it, he’d run a real one. Donnie’s word seemed to be enough for Raph now. Looking over at Leonardo, who was still staring down at his fingertips, he ground his teeth.

“The fuck did it have to be  _ you _ , Splinter JR?” Leo noticed the jealousy in his voice, but he didn’t know why. Did Raph . . . the argument of the purple ooze was still heavy in his head, but he didn’t realize that Raph wanted to be human that bad. 

“I don’t know,” he admitted quietly. 

It wasn’t until Mikey stood up and all but ran out of the needle room that Leo realized, Raph wasn’t jealous for himself. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I feel like these first two chapters are very much "setting the scene" verses being overly interesting, but I hope you still enjoy them somehow. Please enjoy the update! Talk of vomit in this chapter if you're weak to that.

It wasn’t the first time his brother’s avoided looking at him in recent months. The only problem was, the last time they wouldn’t so much as cast a glare towards him was after a fight over the very issue they were currently experiencing. Being human. The purple ooze. He remembered how proud of Raph he had been when he threw it away, declaring that they were fine as they were.

Now here Leonardo sat, trying once again to push his hair away from his face.

He hadn’t seen Mikey since he ran out, causing his heart to ache. Raph had gone after him, leaving Donatello alone with Leonardo. But Donnie didn’t speak to him like he typically would. He took blood, told Leonardo that if he felt fine he could leave and then limped his own way to bed -- declaring that he felt too ill to deal with this right now. He was the one who had been injured the worst in the fight, after all.

It had been difficult to fall back asleep after everything. Laying down on his bed without his shell -- felt so strange. There were so many sensations he’d never experienced before, and he was so terribly alone in it. Part of him still felt like this was a dream ( despite the pinch of the needles in the needled room ) and that he would wake up and puke into his bucket. He had decided to see his Father in the morning, and instead choose now for sleep. 

When he woke up and saw the light dusting of hair over tanned skin -- he felt sick and properly threw up this time. Thankfully he still had a previous-bucket-turned-waste-bin in his bedroom, he was surprised it had taken him this long to finally vomit. The sting of needing to pee was still there and he decided to kill two birds with one stone. Taking his vomit with him, he went to the bathroom where the horrible realization had been found hours earlier. 

Taking care of business was . . . different to say the least. Cleaning his bucket was a mind numbing task, and when he was finished he caught sight of himself in the mirror again. Setting the bucket to the side, he leaned over the sink and stared into icy blue eyes. 

He wouldn’t say he  _ wasn’t _ handsome. He was fairly sure he was japanese, if not mixed with something else. Running his fingers over his cheeks, he felt the stubble that was growing there -- which raised more questions. More questions than answers. His head was still swimming, but right now he just didn’t want to be alone with the man in the mirror. Opening the door to the bathroom, a sense of dejavu hit him like a ton of bricks. 

Apparently Mikey had also been coming to relieve himself. Halted by the door opening, he looked as if he had been about to reach for the door knob. Their eyes locked and there was something inside Mikey’s that made Leo’s heart clench. Was it disdain? He couldn’t pinpoint it, but he  _ hated _ it.

“You done in there?” Mikey pointed and Leo turned, like an idiot, to the bathroom before looking back to him.

“Uh, yeah.”

“Okay.” Clearly waiting for him to move, it took a moment before Leo finally stepped to the side to allow Mikey inside. Their height difference had not changed. He looked down at his little brother as he walked into the bathroom -- but he did not leave.

“Are you planning to watch? Shut the door, dude.”

“Mikey,” Leonardo opened his mouth and wet his lips. He felt so lost and confused, and those were two feelings that he was not comfortable experiencing. Leonardo was still standing in the way of the door shutting. Mikey started to close it on his brother -- clearly planning to slam Leo’s foot in it as he avoided looking at him. Leo stepped back just in time for the door to shut, the lock to be turned and the sound of the shower being turned on.

It seemed today was going to be a long day. He didn’t even get his bucket back. 

  
  


His legs still felt like jelly. Walking was difficult. Maybe it was due to the fact that everything was so different, or the effects of whatever had been pumped into him still coursing through his veins. Either way, he felt off kilter. As far as he had been able to judge, his height hadn’t changed but his weight surely had. His center was off. It made him unnerved. 

But he needed to walk. He couldn’t just lay in bed the entire day, he needed to face this head on.

He needed to speak to his father.

Walking through the hallways of his home, he felt -- an odd tension in the air. Mainly due to the fact it was  _ quiet _ . There was no one in the living area. No Mikey skating around, no Donatello at his station or Raph punching something. They were all still in their rooms, and Leonardo was not so much of a fool as to believe it wasn’t because of him. 

They were avoiding him.

He knew that his Father was more than likely not asleep, and simply performing his morning meditation. He wondered if the old rat had even bothered to check on any of them after they came home so injured, but immediately scolded himself for doubting their Father like that. Leonardo knew he worried about them. Pausing outside his door, he lifted his hand up and rapped his knuckles lightly against the recycled wood. 

“Dad?” he called, listening to the displeased noise of Splinter being interrupted in the middle of his meditation. 

“ _ Yes _ , my son?” 

“Uh,” Leonardo’s tongue felt too big for his mouth again as he tripped over his words. “Can I come in? I need to speak with you. Something’s happened.”

There was the sound of movement inside once more, though this time it was not displeasure. He could have easily opened the door himself, but not without permission. His Father coming over to see him -- he was about to ask him to stop when the door was swung open by the hinges in the ceiling.

“What was ha--”

Hearing his Father cut off, at a loss for words, was something Leonardo was not expecting. Those black eyes stared at him wide before looking him up and down. For half a moment he expected him to ask who he was -- but there was some form of understanding in them that Leonardo saw. He recognized him. He knew it was him. The unbearable feeling of worry was starting to ease a bit.

“I see that.” The comment was dry, and Leonardo nodded slightly -- lips pursed. Lifting one hand up, Leonardo leaned down slightly to give him some help, he felt the rat’s hand touch his face. Comforted by the presence of his Father, Leo closed his eyes and breathed out through his nose. It was -- nice to be touched. It hadn’t even been that long, but the blatant way his family had been ignoring him made it something he was craving in his moments of weakness.

His thoughts drifted back to Mikey, but he forced himself to stay in the now.

“Tell me everything.”

Splinter’s words were not a request, but Leonardo didn’t need the demand. He felt the paw fall away from his face as his Father walked back inside and moved to light another candle. Leonardo followed swiftly behind him. He sat seiza before his Father as he recounted the incident to him. Telling him of the scuffle, the barrels, the dart and the injury. Of waking up and seeing himself. He told him nothing of the fear and anxiety, but he did mention how his brothers were ignoring him. Not in a way that was meant to  _ tattle _ but -- it slipped through his lips bitterly.

“I believe they think you’ve been blessed with some type of gift.” Splinter said after Leonardo finished his tale. “But I doubt some attacker would shoot you with a blessing. Hopefully once your brother is feeling better he’ll be able to figure some way out to change you back to your true self.”

Leonardo nodded slowly, eyes glued to his knees. The mention of Donatello was one that shifted oddly in his chest. Mikey and he, they shared a special bond -- but he was always able to talk to Donnie about anything. His level headed brother had not wanted to look at him last night. The idea of him helping him through this was a painful one, though he knew he would. Donatello was loyal, even if he was upset with him at the moment. 

“Yes, Father.”

  
  


The clink of a bowl being sat on the table was the only sound to his ears. The unnatural stillness of the lair was still bothering him, and he figured it would continue to bother him. He had found a bit of string from one of Mikey’s projects and fashioned it into a type of hair band in order to push his hair away from his eyes. He’d seen April use something similar. The thought of their human friends made his stomach flip once more -- wondering what their reactions to his unnatural predicament would be. 

Leo slowly poured himself a bowl of cereal, knowing he had to eat and keep his strength up to compete with whatever other changes would happen to his body. After milk was added and the fridge was shut, he had just sat down when the first sound that wasn’t his doing echoed through the lair.

A door being slid open and the head foot falls of a mutant turtle coming into the morning. 

Leonardo tried not to look up at the noise, even when the feet halted slightly before continuing on when they saw him. He already knew it was Michelangelo. Apparently the call of food was more compelling than the upset he felt towards him. Bringing his spoon to his mouth, he took a bite and watched his brother as he moved around the small kitchen area. It looked as if Mikey was hunting for something, and when his hands closed around two boxes of cookies -- he tucked them underneath his arm. Leo was burning to say something to him. He wanted to talk to him. 

Mikey grabbed a bag of chips and added it to his tuck before stealing from Raph’s stash of gummy worms.

“Raph is going to notice if you take those,” Leonardo couldn’t help himself but scold slightly as he noticed the theft. Mikey’s fingers let go of the bag. He didn’t turn to look at Leo, and instead shut the cupboard a little too hard. Realizing he was still being ignored Leo looked down into his cereal.

“Are you ever going to talk to me again?”

“No.”

It seemed the need to be childish was more important than the promise of not speaking to him. Leo couldn’t fight the small smile that crossed his face at that. 

“You just did,” he said softly as he stirred his cereal. Watching the tan circles float around his spoon. 

“Well, don’t get used to it, dude. I’m hardcore upset right now.” Mikey finally spared him a glance before flinching and quickly looking away from him. He adjusted the hoard of snacks in his arms and started to leave the kitchen.

“You know I didn’t ask for this, right?” Leonardo felt the need to remind him. “I understand you’re upset that it wasn’t you, but that doesn’t mean you have to hate me for it. I don’t like this any more than the rest of you.”

Something he said seemed to hit Mikey. He paused, one foot still lifted up as he was about to step down from the overstep. He turned to fully look at Leo. Finally.  _ Finally _ . Leo stared back at him, holding onto his spoon. 

“What does it matter if you asked for it?” Mikey wondered, furrowing his face underneath the mask. “You got it. That’s all that matters.  _ You _ , Leo. You didn’t even want us to think about the chance we could be human, and you got it.”

“I’m going to fix it, Father said I should talk to Donnie about it and find out what hit me --”

“It doesn’t matter!” Mikey threw his arms up in upset, apparently forgetting that he was holding onto snacks. The cookies and chips fell to the ground, and the orange brother seemed annoyed by it. Glaring down at the snacks for the moment, he focused his look back up at Leo. There was something in his eyes that looked glossy -- and Leo wondered if he was tearing up. 

Great. 

More things to make him feel like a jerk.

“It doesn’t matter that you -- God, you just don’t  _ get _ it!” 

“Then help me  _ get it _ , Mikey. Because I feel terrible and all of you not talking to me is making me feel worse.”

Mikey chewed his lip before finally bending down and picking up the items one by one. He seemed to be mulling over his words before deciding to speak. But not before he plopped down onto the floor, sitting on the small step up into the kitchen. 

“It’s just not fair.” Mikey whispered softly. “That it was you. You tried to hide the purple ooze from us, and now you get to be human. What if you can’t change back, what if you’re stuck like this forever and we don’t get you anymore?”

The last bit caused Leonardo’s brow to knit as he finally decided this attempt at eating was in vain. Standing up he didn’t move to make an advancement on his brother just yet. He wondered if he could get him to say more -- because he thought this was all jealousy. That Mikey was jealous that Leo was getting this experience he wanted so badly. But if there was more to it, then Leo needed to know. 

Both as a leader and his brother.

“What do you mean you don’t get me anymore?” Leo walked around the table slowly. Mikey was still sitting on the edge, playing with the edge of the blue package of cookies. 

“You’re human now, dude.” Mikey’s voice sounded -- strained, and it was causing every instinct inside Leonardo to flare up. No, Mikey was never supposed to sound so hurt and pained like that. “What if we can’t change you back? You’ll dump me, and have to go up top with April and Case or something. Get a job, an apartment, a pretty wife and live a normal life.”

. . .  _ What _ ?

Leo couldn’t help the pure confusion on his face, and oh -- apparently he had said that bit out loud because Mikey whipped his head around to glare at him. His earlier observation was correct. Mikey’s eyes had been wet with tears and now they looked as if they were about to spill over.

“You can laugh, but I know what’s going to happen, Leo!” Mikey was raising his voice, and Leo wished he wouldn’t. With how his brother’s had been treating him, he worried that someone would come out to defend Mikey’s honor. “You’re normal, dude! Why wouldn’t you leave?!”

Leo forgot about staying away from Mikey. He came upon his brother swiftly, wrapping his arms around his shell and pressing his soft cheek against the scales on his head. The sensation was strange now. Holding a mutant turtle as a human. But that meant nothing with the fever of which Leo held him. Tight as if he was afraid Mikey would slip out of his fingers. 

“There you go again,” Leo mumbled into his head -- lips tickling his bandana. Despite the fact Mikey was apparently very angry with him, his hand came up to hold onto Leo’s arm tight enough to bruise. His shoulders were shaking, and Leonardo suspected he was holding back his tears. “My heart, speaking his mind and not thinking clearly.”

“Don’t make fun of me, Leo. I’m not  _ stupid _ .”

Leo shook his head and turned it slightly to press a firm kiss to his temple. Mikey didn’t flinch away from him, so he suspected that he was allowed to continue. He pressed his forehead against him.

“I never said  _ you  _ were, but  _ that  _ is a little dumb, Mike.” There was a low whine from his brother as he held onto Leo tighter. For someone who didn’t even want to speak to him moments ago, his grip was desperate. “Why would I leave? You guys are my family. Even if we can’t fix it, which I know we can because Don is a  _ genius _ \-- I’d never leave.”

“ . . . Really? Even if it meant you could go up top and marry April and have normal human babies?”

“Wh -- What?” Leo choked on his spit. He pulled back and looked at Mikey as if he grew two heads. “Why would I  _ ever _ want to do that?”

“That’s what I’d do if I turned human.”

Leo knew it was just a joke, but his face darkened slightly. “Really.”

“Well -- no. No, I was just -- aw, Leo.”

“Nice to know you’d leave me like that if the positions were reversed. Really, Mike.” Leonardo didn’t let go of him, but Mikey did loosen his grip on his arm. Something Leo was thankful for because -- for some reason -- it was starting to  _ hurt _ . 

“I was kidding, Leo,” Mikey whined. “This just sucks so bad, dude. I hate it. I hate you looking like that, I hate that you look like that because of me.”

“So you think I’m ugly?” It seemed that humor was the best way to get through to his brother right now. No strict leader routine. Honestly, he was just thankful that Mikey was speaking to him again.”

“No -- I mean, for a human dude you’re kinda sexy but --”

“So this is why you two were screamin’?”

Mikey’s face was flushed and Leo was smiling as they both lifted their gaze up and over to look at Raph who had just walked in. Arms crossed over his chest, the beast of a turtle was looking at them expecting an answer. 

“We were just discussing Mikey’s prolonged crush on April.”

“Leo!” Mikey whined and moved to stand up, which removed Leonardo from his shell. His arm was still full of snacks, but he looked back at Leo. There was a silent apology there for ignoring him. Leonardo wasn’t upset, instead accepting the understanding that he was overreacting. He was just happy to not be ignored anymore.

Raph cleared his throat. 

Well, maybe he would still be ignored by the other two.

“How’s Donnie?” Leo decided to ask instead. The only way to see if Raph held some odd resentment past jealousy was to talk to him. But speaking directly to Raphael about emotions wasn’t a good idea if you weren’t wearing purple. 

Raph regarded him for a moment. He didn’t say anything before letting out a gruff sigh, which caused Leo’s smile to grow. Apparently he was forgiven by his red brother as well. “He’s in the needle room, workin’ on that blood sample he took from you.” 

“Should he be working like that? Isn’t he still injured?” Leo sounded concerned. A question that was followed by Mikey popping open the bag of chips in his arms and shoveling a few into his mouth. 

“Yeah, but he said turnin’ you back was more important.”

Leo felt a bit terrible at that. He wanted to be back to normal as soon as possible, but that didn’t mean a sacrifice to his brother’s health. 

“Maybe we could bring him some breakfast.” Leonardo looked back to the kitchen as Mikey continued to shovel in the chips.

“That’s what I was comin’ to do before I heard you two screamin’ like a bunch of children in here.”

Reaching up in order to fix his makeshift hair band, Leo laughed a little bit and glanced over to Mikey again. Still worried his baby brother would start ignoring him. 

“We’re fine, we talked it out like big boys. Right, Mike?” Leonardo smiled a true smile at his brother, but it fell out of his eyes at the look on Mikey’s face. He was staring with wide eyes, mouth open and hand full of chips, at Leonardo.

It seemed that Raph noticed the look as well. With a little grunt, he followed his gaze the same time Leonardo did. 

It fell to Leo’s arm. 

The same one Mikey had been clinging to moments before, and they both noticed a three finger bruise was blossoming on his tanned skin. 

“Woah,” Leo couldn’t help the surprise that left his throat when he saw it. 

“Guess you’re a lil’ softer now, huh, Fearless?” Raph broke the silence as he moved past the two of them in order to get breakfast for the genius.

“Leo, I’m --” Apparently the fact he had bruised his brother so easily without realizing it was bothering Mikey. Leo shook his head and dropped his arm as he smiled at Mikey.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “I barely felt it. Wouldn’t have even noticed it without you staring, so don’t freak out. Alright?”

He walked back over to Mikey and clasped his hand down on his shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze. Mikey swallowed down what was left in his mouth and nodded, though his eyes flitted back down to look at the bruise on Leo’s arm that he was trying to hide. 

“Alright.”

Leo checked quickly to see if Raph was looking, and when he saw the red turtle face first in the fridge he leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to Mikey’s temple. It had been deemed safe before, and he was going to take what he could get. A small smile perked up on the corners of Mikey’s lips at the kiss. 

“I’m going to go see Donnie,” Leo said -- loud enough for the both of them to hear him. “See if he’s found anything. I really would like to be back to  _ me _ as soon as possible, if he’s feeling up to it so soon.”

“Put a shirt on before you go see him,” Raph peaked up over the fridge with a glare. “I don’t need your weird human nipples looking at him.”

It seemed Mikey had just gone to take another bite of his chips, because he choked on them before spitting them all over Leonardo’s bare chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are moderated, Anti's are not welcome. This is clearly tagged as Tcest. Please keep yourself safe and stay away from content that is upsetting to you!!! Come find me on twitter at the same handle!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I added a Human / Turtle tag, despite the fact I hope that was obvious from the theme of this fic and the tags listed.

He  _ had _ put a shit on, thank you very much. 

Not only because Raphael had said something, but because it was colder in the lair for his new body. Thankful they had clothes they scavenged laying around, he leaned against the desk in the needle room in a grey hoodie and tried to make sense of what Donatello told him.

“I think I found out what you were injected with. Between the dart and your blood, but it’s hard to tell -- there was so little left in the dart, I didn’t really have much to work with.”

“But you had something?” Leonardo asked, eyes moving over the screen as Donnie reached up and swiped something to the side.

Leo, truthfully, had no idea what he was looking at. He figured they were . . . cells? Or something. He had no real mind for science like his brother -- no, that was Donatello’s thing. Leo’s was leading. The screen made no sense, but he trusted whatever came out of his brother’s mouth to rectify that. 

“Enough to start to get a sense, but not to turn you back.” Donatello was leaning at a strange angel in his seat. More than likely to relieve some of the pressure to his wound. It still burned Leo that his brother was working while injured, but he wasn’t going to try to stop him. 

“Talk to me, Don.”

“Well, it wasn’t the purple ooze. But it also was,” Donnie spoke in turns as he reached up with two fingers and pinched to enhance. The screen lit up in a brillant blue and Leo continued to stare at the useless bit. “There’s trace amounts, I still have all my data from when we were dealing with Bebop and Rocksteady. I recognize those signatures, but that’s not all. There’s something else in here that I don’t understand, but I think it might be the reason you’re feeling so sick.”

Leonardo had not neglected to mention the vomiting incident earlier, nor the one he had on his way to the needle room. 

“But there is ooze in it.” Leonardo didn’t exactly like that. “Who could have access to something like that? The Shredder is toast, and we haven’t caught wind of Stockman since the incident. And even if it  _ was _ him, what need would he have to  _ un _ mutant someone?”

“It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense,” Donnie admitted with a pained groan as he sits back further. “But I’m not really interested in making sense. I just want to figure this out, stop it and turn you back as soon as possible. Some of these readings, they’re making me nervous. I mean, I won’t know anything until I look further into it but --”

“But nothing, Don.” Reaching out, the blue coded brother placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a comforting squeeze. “I appreciate all your work, but I don’t want you  _ overworking _ yourself. You’re still injured.”

“Yeah, ‘nd he needs to  _ eat _ .”

Announcing his presence as he entered, Raphael walked inside and straight over to the desk Donatello and Leonardo occupied. Pushing some of Donnie’s important paperwork aside, much to his chagrin, he set down a plate of eggs before the genius. It looked as if Raph had taken feeding Donnie to a very serious degree. There was even toast. Buttered. 

“Raph, don’t move my things. You’re mixing them all up!” Donnie complained but his nostrils flared slightly as he inhaled the scent of the breakfast. Reaching for the fork, he picked it up and used the side to cut off a bit of egg as he bit into his toast. Leonardo watched with an amused expression on his face.

Ever since his brother’s had confirmed their feelings for one another and broken past the awkward moments, Raph had decided it was his duty to take care of their resident brain. Which also included making sure he ate regularly. Leonardo knew from experience how difficult it could be to get Donatello to sleep, but he was thankful that he had caught him pulling all nighters less and less lately. 

“I’m guessing getting more of whatever they shot me with would help,” Leo spoke as he drifted away from the desk and the munching turtle.

“Well, it wouldn’t hurt.” Donatello spoke with his mouth full, but he had lifted one of his hands to cover the sight of food in his mouth. “But we’re not exactly in any condition to go looking for them again.”

“You’re not in any condition.” Leonardo leant down and picked up his bandana -- having spotted it on the floor next to the cot he had been laying in the night before. 

“Neither are you.” There was a firmness to his voice, but Leonardo had never been good at listening to  _ others _ orders. Unless that person was their Father, then he followed blindly. 

“I just need to figure out this new body, then I’ll be fine.” Reaching up, Leo fashioned his bandana over his face -- or attempted to. A bit unnerved by the fact that it didn’t . . . fit over his eyes like it should. Pulling it back down he looked at it puzzled. His head must have shrunk. Fantastic. 

“Y’need more than that,” there was a clink of the fork cutting into more eggs as Raph spoke. Leo looked back over to him and the hot head jerked his chin down at Leo’s arm. The blossomed bruise was still resting there. “Mike barely touched ya’ and y’re bruised, fearless.”

Leonardo saw some heat in his own vision. What was that meant to mean? He bristled and held onto his bandana a bit tighter.

“That doesn’t mean I’m weak.”

“I never said y’re  _ weak _ ,” Raph stood a bit straighter. Large arms folded over the front of his plastron, Donatello was chewing as he watched the two of them. “But y’re different.”

“I just need time to figure out this body. I don’t know why I bruise so easily,” Leonardo mumbled. “Maybe I’m lacking in iron.”

“No, I think it’s  _ because  _ of your body, Leo.” Donatello was doing the hand thing again until he swallowed down his bite of breakfast. Offering a piece of toast to Raphael who leaned down and took a rather large bite as the purple banded brother spoke. “You’re human now. You’re not covered in scales, you have no protective shell. You’re just soft flesh bits, unprotected.”

Leonardo didn’t like this talk. They weren’t calling him weak, but they were listing his new disadvantages. While there was no real doubt in his mind that Donnie would be able to fix it, the sneaking thought of what if he  _ couldn’t _ was still there. If he couldn’t, the idea of being left a weak human for the rest of his life was --

“I should start training then.”

Both brother’s groaned at their leader’s catchphrase. 

“Guy gets turned into a human and can’t even take a  _ break _ .” Donatello mumbled, turning in his chair, he went back to his eggs -- but his free hand started typing. Maybe he took it as a personal challenge and decided he too should get back to work. 

Raphael looked a bit annoyed, but swallowed down the bite of toast in his mouth. The displeased look didn’t change. 

“I’ll go wit’ ya’,” which surprised Leo. It wasn’t as if Raph never trained with him, but for him to volunteer like that? It wasn’t common, and it caused a bit of a flush to spread across Leonardo’s cheeks. A blush of shame. 

“No, I don’t think so,” he mumbled -- the shame rolling around in his stomach. “I need to start this alone.”

“Y’sure?” Raphael didn’t look too convinced. 

“I need to find my center, figure out how to move while I’m like --” he gestured over himself with a broad sweep of his arm. “ _ This _ . I need to do that alone. But once I do, I’d be more than happy to take you down a peg.  _ Again _ .”

The familiar teasing and rivalry was enough to break that displeased look off Raph’s face. His smile broke out into a sarcastic sneer as he rolled his eyes. 

“I’ll just lift by m’self then,” he snorted. Leaning down he pressed a kiss to the crown of Doantello’s head -- firm, and Leo pretended not to be looking. 

“Did you see where Mikey went?” Leo found himself asking as he tucked the blue bandana he’d been holding into his pocket. 

“Took the snacks to his room. Last I saw of ‘em.”

“Oh.” Leonardo tried his best to not sound disappointed. Raph must had noticed as he rolled his eyes once more and removed himself from Donatello.

“Just give ‘em some space, Leo,” he spoke as he moved to the doorway. “He’s talkin’ to you. Just give ‘em space.”

Leonardo found himself giving  _ everyone _ space for the rest of the day. With the exception of a moment of meditation with his Father, he spent most of his day in the training room alone. His swords found and returned to him, getting his gear on had been its own feat. The straps did not fit when a shell was missing, and he had to adjust a previously perfect fit. 

But he had gotten them on. 

And he had grown frustrated.

The meditation with his Father had been due to his frustrated grunts as he tried to get his new body to move in the same way his old had. Twisting, performing his katas -- nothing was right. Everything felt off. Even the muscles in his arms looked wrong. He knew he was almost the same size as before, but he was also  _ smaller _ . It caused a new form of self loathing he hadn’t experienced. The meditation hadn’t overly helped, but the stern look in his Father’s eyes had told him it should have. 

He didn’t argue with him about it. 

“Hah!” A sharp breath left him at another swing of his swords. Listening to the sound of the air cutting around them -- even that sounded off.

He was slower.

Less refined.

Leonardo had been right before, turning themselves human was a disadvantage. He just wished he hadn’t found out this way. It was humiliating in a way. Sheathing his swords, he reached over his shoulders and tucked them back away. His chest rose and fell, as he used the sleeve of his shirt to wipe his brow. He wasn’t sure of the time, but he still knew he had been at this all day. He was tired, but not in a good way like he typically was after a day of training. 

Usually after training, he felt fulfilled. Like he got a good workout in, refined himself and was working on becoming a better ninja.

Right now, he felt useless and stuck.

They needed to track down the shipment, and with it the group that had been there that night. Get their hands on more of what Leonardo had been injected with. Figure out how it works, and remutate him. They needed to do it, and he needed to lead said mission. It wasn’t as if just because he was fleshy that he would leave his brother’s high and dry out there on his own.

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his bandana. He had not found time yet to fashion himself a new one. He felt -- more naked than he  _ already felt _ without it on. Like he was a stranger. Underdressed in a way. Leo held the blue fabric tighter in his tanned hand before chucking it to the floor with a hard slap. Slumping down, one leg tucked under him and the other propped up -- he leaned his face against the knee in distress. A moment of weakness alone.

“Damnit,” he cursed.

“. . .You okay?”

Apparently he  _ wasn’t _ alone.

Whipping his head around, cursing himself for not noticing -- was his  _ hearing _ going as well? -- he saw Michelangelo standing in the doorway watching him with a knitted brow. Leo deflated slightly in his defensive stance, and instead tucked his other leg down as well underneath himself. Not quite seiza, but sloppy. Like everything else was right now. 

“I’m fine.” 

His voice betrayed him, and it must have translated over to his brother. Mikey walked further inside the training room, and shut the door behind him. Leonardo refused to look at him, still covered in sweat, as Mikey proceeded to sit down across from him.

Nothing was spoken for a moment, and the only sound in the room was that of Leo’s labored breaths. 

“You don’t look fine, dude.” Mikey’s tone was tender. 

It  _ hurt _ .

It shouldn’t have hurt. Michelangelo was speaking to him again. That was a bonus. He should welcome it. They had cleared the air in the kitchen, explained why Mikey was ignoring him so vemenously. But that didn’t change the fact that Leonardo had felt that rejection with every inch of his body. He had been changed in a way against his will, and his brother’s had avoided even  _ looking _ at him.

Now Mikey was here pretending to care?

“It doesn’t matter, it’s superfluous,” his voice was hard -- not unlike the tone it took when he barked orders at them on patrol.

The blue of the bandana caught his eye as Mikey reached over and picked it up. Holding it in a three fingered hand, he offered it over to the five digits. Leo refused to lift his arms from where they were braced, holding tightly onto the fabric of his legs.

“It doesn’t fit. It’s useless.”

“That doesn’t mean it’s useless, dude,” Mikey complained lightly and Leonardo could  _ feel _ his eyes on him. He hated it, and he felt his blood beginning to boil again. 

_ Stop looking at me. Stop looking at me like this. Weak, pathetic. I don’t need your eyes on me. You hate me enough already for this _ . 

Grinding his teeth, he refused to reply. Eyes closed he breathed in deeply through his nose, trying to calm himself. He wasn’t Raph. He wasn’t a slave to impulses. He wasn’t Mikey. He wasn’t a slave to his emotions. He was calm, he was rational -- and it didn’t matter how hard his head had been bounced around today, he was going to be calm and collected about it. 

“Leo, c’mon.” Mikey whined slightly at him. He scooted forward on his knees, until the pads on them were touching Leonardo’s. Leo still refused to open his eyes, instead focusing on his breathing. He should excuse himself to meditate, wondering if the reason he couldn’t find his center was because he had yet to accept this new body as his own. He would never accept it, not fully -- not when there was so much hope that he could still be  _ himself _ again. 

“Leo.”

_ No _ .

“Leo.”

_ No, Mikey. _

“Do you wanna kiss?”

His eyes shot open, and his head jerked up with an incredulous look. Michelangelo was smirking at him. Dopey in a way that met his eyes, and Leo couldn’t even blush. He was --

_ What _ ?

“What?” he echoed his thoughts, confused and more than startled by the comment. “Where did that come from?”

“You’re doing that thing again, Leo,” Mikey reached his hands up and used two of his fingers to make mock brows facing in an angry way. “Your face is all bunched up and you won’t talk to me. You’re upset about  _ somethin’ _ , and that’s okay. I want to talk, but if you won’t talk I figured the next best thing is kissing.”

“And why exactly would you think that’s the next best thing?” Leo couldn’t understand the logic, but this was Michelangelo they were talking about.

“Dunno, you always look happy when we kiss. Figured it’d help.”

Now the slight flush came to Leonardo’s cheeks. Their relationship was blossoming in the same way as Raphael and Donatello’s, though not at the same time. While the other two had . . .  _ consummated _ their relationship before them, Michelangelo and Leonardo had broken the barrier of love first.

But that didn’t change the fact it still was an intimate thing for him. 

“We’re  _ not _ kissing.”

“Then you’re gonna talk to me?” Mikey tilted his head to the side with a grin. “Man it’s sooo much easier to tell you’re blushing like this. Your cheeks are all pink.”

Leonardo flashed him a glare which caused Mikey to flinch back slightly with a laugh. 

“You’re not kissing me like -- like  _ this _ !” Leo lifted his arm and once again gestured to all of him. 

“Why not? I already said you were sexy for a human. C’mon, just gimmie a smooch.”

“No --!”

It no longer seemed like Mikey was interested in cheering him up or getting him to talk. It seemed more like he was interested in a game, a game of bothering his lover. Leaning forward, he reached to grab onto Leo’s face and force a smooch on him, something that Leo quickly evaded. Pushing off the floor, he was standing and glaring down at his little brother.

“Don’t try it.”

But Mikey had committed to the game, a large smile blossoming across his face as his hands came up to wiggle in a grabby motion.

“C’mere, baby, I’m not a snapping turtle!”

“Mikey!”

Quickly moving when Mikey darted at him, Leo couldn’t fight the smile that peaked at his lip as the chase began. It was clear Michelangelo wasn’t taking it seriously, that this was something of fun -- and he . . . well, he needed it right now. He needed this release. He was still upset that he had been ignored so severely earlier, but having his brother chase him around the training room as he wiggled out of his grasp was  _ fun _ . Something to help him forget the reality of his predicament. 

A reality he was thrust back into when he misjudged his own weight on a turn and fell to the floor. Missing a shell was missing a large chunk of weight he was used to hauling around. His mind was used to compensating for it, using it. He landed on his side but his head did not connect with the floor thankfully to a large green hand catching it before it could happen. 

Breathing heavily, he looked up at Mikey who had not dropped his smile.

“Caught you,” he sing songed down at him.

“Because I’m not at my best right now,” Leonardo defended -- those self deprecating thoughts were creeping back in. 

_ Because you’re weak now. Because you can’t even get away from  _ **_Mikey_ ** _ in a simple game. _

“Still caught you. That means I get my kiss, big bro.”

Michelangelo didn’t let go of him, instead he adjusted the grip he had and held a firm -- but not  _ too _ firm -- grip on Leo’s head. Keeping him in place. Leo noticed his fingers were threaded in his hair from the slight pinch he felt. 

“You really want to kiss me looking like  _ this _ ?” Leo’s voice pitched down slightly, as if he truly was doubting it. Something flitted across Mikey’s face, but before he could ask questions he was already leaning down. 

The kiss was different from those he’d experienced before with his brother. His own human nose brushed against his beak, but Mikey’s lips were still familiar. Leonardo’s eyes drifted closed as he gripped a scaly arm. He breathed out through his nose -- clearly moving to pull away after a few seconds of the dry chaste kiss passed. But Mikey did not allow him. Instead he held him fast against his face. 

Leo’s arms came up to press against Mikey’s chest -- pushing him away with a bit more determination. There was a hurt look on Mike’s face when their mouths  _ popped _ apart.

“What is wrong with you?” Leonardo’s voice broke. He was startled by the emotion in his tone, but that didn’t stop the words. “You wouldn’t even look at me less than twenty four hours ago. Now you’re kissing me while I’m like  _ this _ ?”

There was shame on the bright colored brother’s face. He looked away from him and let go, allowing Leonardo to sit up slightly. He stared his brother down, and Mikey licked his lip.

“Kinda felt different when you ignored me all day.”

“What? I wasn’t ignoring you, I was -- training. That’s not different from what I usually do, Mikey.”

“But it is. We had a fight, and everything was cool but you didn’t come and see me like you usually do. Usually you’d come and check up on me, ask me how I’m doin’ and stuff. But you didn’t. You stayed in here all day. You skipped lunch and dinner and, I dunno. I felt kinda stupid for ignoring you, even if we did fight about it.” Mikey was playing with one of the bracelets around his wrist. Leo refused to focus on that and instead reached out and cupped his brother’s cheek. 

“I wasn’t ignoring you, Mike. Honest,” he said, tone softer than before. “I was training. We need more of whatever they shot me with to fix me, and I can’t do that if even  _ you _ can catch me. I need to train this body.”

“Felt like you were ignoring me.” There was a pout on those green lips. 

“Is there anything I can say to convince you I wasn’t?” Leonardo knew  _ this _ game. There was a smile on his face as he ran a padded finger over a scaly cheek. 

“You could kiss me again, dude.”

Kiss him again he did.

Leaning in, it was Leo who initiated the kiss this time. Eyes falling closed again, he allowed his brother to continue the kiss past something chaste and easy. He felt Mikey’s hand come over to rest on Leo’s lap, as the other held the side of his neck. Tilting his head slightly to the side, Leo felt his brother’s mouth open slightly in invitation. There were still doubts of doing this while he looked like  _ this _ , but he didn’t stop him. He encouraged it, parting his own mouth slightly.

Leonardo wasn’t overly aware of the fact Mikey was laying him down on the mats until there was a soft pressure against the back of his head. 

“What are you doing?” he spoke against his mouth as Mike’s tongue darted out to chase his lips. “Father could walk in.”

“He’s asleep, you’ve been in here forever,” Mikey whispered. Leonardo felt the cold hand of his brother start to push his shirt up. A shiver ran through him, but he let it happen. He doubted that Mikey would put them at risk like this if Father was awake, but Leo knew he was going to stop before things went too far. There was a responsibility bestowed upon him. Refusing to mess around in the training room, he suspected, was a part of that responsibility. 

Their lips met once more, mouths moving against one another -- Leonardo tasted his tongue in his mouth. It was familiar and helped to wash away the feelings of earlier. Cemented him in this moment. Hands came up to hold onto his shell as they kissed, but it was when he felt Mikey’s hand moving a bit  _ more south _ \-- that he pulled away.

“No.”

There was a whine from Mikey’s lips.

“I told you I don’t care, you’re still you and I’m sorry about earlier I didn’t --”

“No, I mean.” Leonardo’s face was flushed and he could tell Mikey noticed from the way he was looking at him. “Not here.”

“Not here?” Mikey repeated, a mystified look on his face. “So, somewhere else is okay?”

A jerky nod from the leader and he felt himself being picked up by the younger brother. Something he protested against with a slap to the shell, but it seemed to not get through to him as he took off into the hallway.

Leo should have said no. 

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are moderated, Anti's are not welcome. This is clearly tagged as Tcest. Please keep yourself safe and stay away from content that is upsetting to you!!!


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